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XXXXXXXXIn 2004, the Hart DFAS Church Recording group presented the Record of the Church of All Saints, Fleet, Hampshire. This document fully itemised the contents of the Grade-2 listed church, which was built in 1860 as a memorial by Charles Lefroy to his wife Janet. To design the church he chose William Burges, the famous neo-gothic architect, and son of Janet’s father’s business partner.From a small mill village, Fleet has since grown to a town of 40,000 with the church very much centre of the community. However, in June 2015, in an act of arson, the church suffered a serious fi re. Despite the best efforts of the fi re services, the timber roof burnt furiously. The following morning, the whole roof had gone. HEALING ANARCHITECTURAL MARVELRichard Wigram, a member of the Hart DFAS Church Recording team, considers how a Church Record could help the restoration of All Saints, FleetThe Church Record by Hart DFAS will act as an invaluable guide while rebuilding a churchInside was a blackened mass of smouldering timbers, with damage to the very fi ne pulpit, the font and the Lefroy memorial. The very unusual painted wall decorations were severely discoloured. Hart DFAS immediately offered its help.A temporary roof has now been put in place. What the Church can do now is not straightforward. It was insured, so it could just be rebuilt, and this would honour the Burges heritage. However, if Burges was asked to design a parish church for Fleet now, it would be nothing like what he designed 160 years ago. Can what is left be modifi ed to create a building that works for the parish now and in the future, and yet retain the very special architectural legacy? We shall see.This is where the Church Record will really come in useful. Firstly in defi ning what the church has lost for insurance purposes, and secondly in permitting balanced decisions on what to refurbish or allow to go. Architects and restorers will also benefi t from having the records of colours, materials, designs and so on. At the time of writing, this phase is in the future. In a few years’ time, it will be interesting to see in retrospect how much help the Record really is, and indeed if simple changes could have made it even more useful. ■“As the leading church Insurer, we strongly believe in the conservation of our heritage, so we recommend that churches maintain detailed photographic records.” KEVIN THOMAS PRINCIPAL RISK MANAGEMENT SURVEYOR, ECCLESIASTICAL INSURANCETHE ART OF GIVING — 15